"DeLuca has been systematically positioning himself to take over Castellano & Co. for the last three years. He started small. Suggesting cost-cutting measures, renegotiating supplier contracts to favor Vitale-owned companies, slowly replacing your mother's trusted employees with his own people."
"I know all that," she said quietly. "I've been trying to stop it, but he's the CFO. He has authority I can't easily override without proof of wrongdoing."
"I have proof." I pulled up another file. "Your uncle has been skimming. Not much—just enough that it wouldn't trigger audits. But over three years, he's diverted about two million dollars into offshore accounts."
Her head snapped up. "Two million?"
"Two point three, to be exact." I showed her the transaction records my team had pulled. "All perfectly hidden in the accounting. Legitimate-looking expenses that never actually happened. Vendor payments to companies that don't exist. It's sophisticated, but it's there."
"This could destroy him." Her voice was barely a whisper. "If I took this to the board, if I filed criminal charges?—"
"He'd be ruined. Possibly arrested." I paused. "But he's also connected to the Vitale family. And the Vitales don't take kindly to people who threaten their interests."
"So using this information could get me killed."
"Unless you're protected by someone the Vitales won't touch." I let that hang in the air. "The Morettis and the Vitales have a treaty. Uneasy, but stable. An attack on a Moretti's wife would violate that treaty. Your uncle knows this. It's why he's been waiting for you to fail on your own rather than simply making you disappear."
Understanding dawned in her eyes. "But if I marry you?—"
"Then you're untouchable. Your uncle can't hurt you without starting a war he knows he'll lose." I moved closer, crouching down so we were at eye level. "And with this evidence, you can force him out of the company entirely. Offer him a choice—resign quietly and we don't press charges, or face criminal prosecution and the wrath of both our families when everyone learns he betrayed a Moretti alliance through his embezzlement."
"He'd resign."
"Absolutely. He's ambitious, not stupid." I took her hand. "You get your company back, free and clear. No one threatening you, no one trying to undermine your mother's legacy. Just you, running things exactly how you want."
"And in exchange?"
"You give me what I need. An heir. A partner who understands this world and can handle it." I squeezed her hand. "And maybe, if we're lucky, something more."
"More?"
"Respect. Trust. Maybe even affection, given enough time." I smiled slightly. "I'm not looking for a love match, Angelina. But I'm also not interested in a cold, distant marriage. I want apartner. Someone I actually enjoy spending time with, both in bed and out of it."
She was quiet for a long moment, studying my face like she was trying to read my soul.
"What would the terms be?" she asked finally. "Specifically."
I'd been waiting for this question. Had spent the last two hours thinking through every detail.
"One year minimum," I began. "Long enough to satisfy both our families' requirements and establish the marriage as legitimate. After that, we reassess. If we want to continue, we continue. If not, we negotiate a dissolution."
"Divorce."
"Eventually. But not right away. It needs to look real, which means at least a year." I stood and started pacing, organizing my thoughts. "You'd keep full control of Castellano & Co. I have no interest in running a cosmetics company. In exchange, you'd attend family functions with me, present a united front, and handle the social obligations that come with being a Moretti wife."
"Social obligations meaning what?"
"Charity events. Dinners with allies. Looking beautiful and gracious while dangerous men discuss dangerous business." I paused. "My sister Gianna can help you navigate all that. She's good at it."
"The one who organized the auction."
"Yes. She'll like you, I think." I continued pacing. "You'd live here. This penthouse is mine, separate from the family compound. We'd have privacy while still being close enough for appearances."
"And the heir requirement?"
This was the delicate part.
"We try," I said carefully. "Actively. I'm not talking about forcing you into anything, but we'd need to make a genuineattempt to conceive within the first six months. If it doesn't happen naturally, we discuss other options—IVF, whatever it takes to satisfy the terms of both our situations."
